Monday, June 18, 2012

Friendship

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too?
I thought I was the only one." ~ C.S. Lewis

Nine years ago my husband and I moved back to our hometown after finishing college and discovered we had very few friends our age left! Almost everyone we'd graduated high school with had moved on.

I was hungry for new friendships. I remember being very specific when I brought my prayers before God. I wanted women of faith who were on fire for the Lord.

When our oldest daughter was eighteen months old I began attending an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class and little did I know, my prayers were about to be answered and God was getting ready to pour out more of His blessings on my life.

The ECFE class was designed for children my daughter's age and the moms in the class were all in the same life stage as me. A couple of them had known each other for a while and they were just starting up a ministry called MOPS (Mothers of Preschooler). One of the moms, Beka, asked me if I'd be interested in giving it a try. I didn't even hesitate.

I was convinced MOPS was the best idea ever imagined even before I walked in the door. A room full of moms coming together twice a month to eat, fellowship and grow together - could it get any better? Between ECFE and MOPS, my tank was starting to fill up. For the first time in years I felt exactly like C.S. Lewis' quote: "What! You, too? I thought I was the only one."

I've been in MOPS and ECFE for seven years now and I've made more friendships than I ever dreamed possible. I'm honored to walk along side these phenomenal women as they mother their children and I'm always amazed when a woman reaches out in friendship to me. I'm even more blessed when I can reach out to someone else.

Not only did I make great friends, but it turns out these lovely ladies have fantastic husbands, too! Some of my hubby's best friendships have come from my involvement in MOPS. There's nothing better than to have friendships with couples when the husbands and the wives get along.

I'm convinced that life is much better when it's lived with friends.


These three ladies have become one of my life lines. We each have four children close in age (quick math: that's sixteen children under the age of eight when we're together!) which means we leave them at home with the daddies and get pedicures and go out for coffee and just refresh with one another whenever we can!

From left: Beka & Sarah (from that first ECFE Class!) and Lindsay, from an early MOPS year, and me.
I wish I could put pictures up of all my friends; you each have a special place in my heart.

What about you? Where have you made friends? Are you in a season of prayer for friendship?

29 comments:

  1. You're making me wish I joined MOPS while I still had preschoolers, Gabrielle. :)

    My closest friends are definitely those from church and of course, my sister!

    Loved your post from last Monday about golfing. I think it's wonderful how you went golfing with your husband on one of those precious dates. ;)

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    1. MOPS is an amazing organization! I'm so thankful it started in our community just when I needed it. My years in MOPS are beginning to wind down, but my friendships are just picking up speed!

      For Father's Day yesterday I stayed home with our two year old twins and my hubby took our 5 & 7 year olds out to the golf course for a date of their own. :)

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  2. Love your opening quote! I am so blessed by you in so many ways - I too am so glad God has brought our lives together!!!

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    1. Beka, I still remember that first MOPS conversation we had! It's been a life changer for me. Thanks for offering that initial act of friendship by inviting me to come along for the journey! You've been a constant blessing in my life. Love you. :)

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  3. I've been blessed with amazing friends in each season of life so far. Even when I studied abroad, I made the most amazing friends. Awesome!

    This is a season when I have less friends in the the actual town I live in. I feel like I'm on the road so much that even after a few years, I've barely settled in D.M. But God has blessed me with friends in other places, which means I get to take fun road trips! And I love that even though miles separate us, the Internet makes us feel close.

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    1. You're right - different stages of life present different needs and different frienships. I'm thankful everyday for my new internet friendships! God has brought my writing friends at just the right time in my life. :)

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  4. Yes, I have a lot of friends, although fewer super close friendships than in the past (simply because of the time it takes to invest in them). But I don't know what I'd do without those connections. They really are like you described them...a lifeline!

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    1. I agree, having those close friendships take a lot of time and investment. I'm always amazed when someone wants to invest that time in me! :)

      When I first started blogging I realized that gaining "followers" and making friends with other bloggers was going to take a long, invested effort on my part - just like I knew walking into a room of 40 MOPS moms wouldn't mean I'd immediately have 40 new friends, neither does plopping my name down in the blogosphere mean I'll immediately have a 1,000 followers. Any relationship worth having takes time. :)

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  5. Yay for girlfriends!!!
    I've had seasons of life when I've had the best of friends -- and seasons of life when I've prayed for friends -- and walked life out alone.
    Yeah, walking life out with friends is better.
    And MOPS? That's a wonderful organization. I've been involved with it both as a mom and as a writer/editor and I love the heartbeat of that ministry.

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    1. I spent almost two years in Iowa while my husband was going to school at ISU and I only had two co-workers that I would consider friends. It was a lonely time in the friends department, but a great time during our honeymoon stage of marriage. Each season calls for different needs.

      MOPS! I love the heartbeat of MOPS, too. The first time I saw your name I recognized it from MOPS, Intl. How amazing! I remember my first MOPS Convention and standing in a room of thousands of other mothers worshipping our Lord. I distinctly remember thinking, we all have the same heartbeat in this moment. We desire to be the best mom we can be and to serve God with everything He's given us. It's such a powerful place to be!

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  6. Love you, Gabe. :)

    Lindsay

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    1. You put a smile on my face, Lindsay! I remember the first day I met you, when you came in to MOPS and I heard you had been volunteering in the MOPPETS classrooms until there was a place for you in our meetings. I thought, Wow! Now that's a cool woman! :) You've gone from volunteering in MOPPETS all the way up to Coordinating the whole ministry. I love you, too. :)

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  7. So encouraged you've made friends through a supportive group like this. Moms groups have been great sources of friendships for me. Neighbors. I've been blessed. And I've learned to become more discerning. This has helped.
    ~ Wendy

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    1. You've hit on a great point, Wendy. How to discern. It's a fine balance between wanting to meet and befriend every woman you encounter, to knowing that you only have so much time and energy to give to a friendship and being able to know where to invest your resources. Life is a balancing act in so many ways...

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  8. I have some great friends that live too far away & am currently in a time of prayer for some new friends. Having just moved & with two little ones I am praying God brings families into our lives with the desire to know God, His Word & truth. I look forward to forming some new friendships.

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    1. I don't know another person on this planet who makes friends as quickly or as easily as you do! I was thinking about your comment for a while and I'm in awe that God has moved you guys just when your friendship needs are changing. I know He has the perfect group of friends for all of you. I'll pray for you, too. And I can't wait to come up and see that gorgeous new house of yours!!

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  9. I am a Social Butterfly married to a Cave Dwelling Hermit. Seriously. Not Mr Par-tay. But, we've managed to pay several people to act as friends along the way. As long as the husband of the other team understands hockey , we'll all be fine. As long as the wife understand that I am slightly off, we'll be fine. Oh, and everyone has to enjoy spontaneous accents. That is my disorder of choice: Sudden British Accents. Or Australian. Or Hillbilly. Or Scottish...I'm going to do my first vlog completely in accents.

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    1. Jennifer, you make me laugh out loud! I'd love to hear a vlog in accents. What part of Canada do you live in? I keep trying to picture you somewhere up yonder but I can't get a visual.

      My brother in law is a crazy guy and in high school we had a group of kids visiting from Argentina. Before they left they went around the school and made a video to take back with them to show their friends how the kids in Minnesota live and talk, etc. They showed us their video in Spanish class right before they left and there was my brother in law Justin (at the time he wasn't my brother in law - thought I'd clarify that) and he was talking in a Fargo accent - like from the movie Fargo - and he never clarified or talked in his normal accent. I was mortified that the Argentinians would think he actually sounded like that! And this is the father of my precious new nephew... :)

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    2. I live in New Brunswick, just outside the city of Fredericton,in a lovely burb named New Maryland. NM was settled by Empire Loyalists just after a wee skirmish in 1776. I am originally from Vancouver, BC.

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  10. When I was younger and my children were in school,like you, my circle of friends revolved around other mothers whose children were the same age. We ran into each other so often at school functions, we began to hang out together on weekends.As our children grew up, we've stayed in touch through social media, but we no longer have that constant bond keeping us close.It is interesting how friendships seem to evolve to meet our needs. Now my closest friends are those I worship with. I met my best friend of 12 years when our churches joined together in 1999. It is exciting to think about all the future friends God has in mind for us.

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    1. I've had a lot of MOPS friends come and go - and we still see each other from time to time at the grocery store - but the MOPS friends who have stuck close are the ones I go to church with or have other "life points" as me - places we regularily see each other. There are one or two that we have to be very purposeful to connect because we don't go to the same church and we don't have those life points.

      I've added some new friends since having the twins (other moms of multiples) and a brand new friend that came from renting our house and I can't imagine my life without these gals - it makes me wonder who else is out there for me to meet!! I can already tell that my new writing friends are a God send!

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  11. Sounds like so much fun :) With 3 kiddos I can totally understand how nice it is for daddy's to take them for an evening! I'm so thankful for a group of moms who all have a bunch of kids the same age. We're a small army when we get together, and we all have such a great time.

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    1. When my four friends and I get together we are a small army, too! Now that our last round of kiddos are getting to be toddlers we are starting to get them all together again for playdates. We just had one last week with all 16 kiddos and it was a blast. Not only are we creating friendships, but we're encouraging friendships between our kids, as well.

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  12. I love the picture, Gabrielle! Time away from the house (and our kids) is so important!

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    1. Now that I blog I almost always have a camera handy - I never know when I will need a picture! I'm thankful my friends and family allow me to use them. :)

      Time away is crucial - I realize that more now that I have twins.

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  13. Friendships are so very important to me. They make the stuff of life - our experiences, joys, sorrows, and faith journey - worth every moment. I love the totally girl mani-pedi pic! LOVE!

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    1. You're right, Donna. It's so much more fun going through the highlights of my life with friends by my side and I need them just as much for the difficult times, too, if not more. This was a fun outing for us! Our next gathering will be at a quilt shop that just opened near our home. I can't wait! I'm sure I'll have more pictures to share.

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  14. That's so wonderful God answered your prayer like that!I have to say I've been blessed by women in my church and neighbors as well.

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    1. I'm so happy God gave us other people to walk through life with. Whether they're family or friends (or both!) it's so much better to have a support system. Thanks for stopping by, Jennifer!

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